Elizabeth M. Brama

Elizabeth (Liz) Brama is the Energy Practice Group Chair and a member of the executive committee. She served as the Vice President and Treasurer of Briggs and Morgan prior to its combination with Taft. Liz focuses on complex contested matters for energy companies, and has successfully resolved financial disputes ranging from multi-million dollar acquisition matters to complex regulatory rate and administrative proceedings. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (inactive), practicing primarily in the following areas:

• Energy industry regulation, litigation, and commercial transactions
• Administrative law and procedure
• Financial and accounting disputes
• General complex commercial litigation
• Appellate law

Liz also has extensive redistricting experience. She represented the plaintiffs in Hippert v. Ritchie before the 2011-2012 Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel, and previously served as legal counsel to the 2001-2002 Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel. She has published multiple legal articles on the subject.

Representative Regulatory Experience

• Represented electric and gas public utilities in ratemaking proceedings before multiple state public utility and public service commissions.
• Provided utilities counsel in relation to impacts of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Negotiated settlement with respect to process for reflecting tax reform impacts in utility rates.
• Assisted multiple utilities in developing and supporting grid modernization proposals in Colorado and Minnesota.
• Supported Minnesota electric utility in appeal of resource planning decision to Minnesota Court of Appeals.
• Represented public utility in request for approval of affiliated interest agreements and associated capacity and energy purchases from Wisconsin natural gas plant.
• Participated in the investigation and prudence review of costs incurred in connection with upgrades at nuclear power plant.
• Assisted public utility in obtaining determinations of prudence and approvals to acquire North Dakota wind farm.
• Represented electric utility group in regulatory routing proceedings for 345 kV transmission line spanning Minnesota.
• Supported multiple utilities in the development of various resource planning submissions.
• Represented electric utility in multiple appeals of rate case orders to the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court.
• Handled negotiation of vendor contract for major power train equipment at electric generation facility.
• Represented multiple corporate employers in pension accounting regulatory proceedings in Minnesota.

Representative Litigation Experience

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of electric utility, dismissing $20 million property damage and business interruption claims.
• Settled multi-million dollar vendor dispute regarding work at a generation facility on behalf of electric utility.
• Represented international businesses in private arbitration to allocate liability for a $100 million coal tar clean-up of sediments and land.
• Represented global marketing services company in arbitration regarding its acquisition of a privately held company.
• Defended a multinational business services organization in a whistleblower dispute involving alleged accounting fraud.
• Represented international distributor in litigation over its multi-million dollar acquisition of a privately held business.
• Represented successor to a railroad in both a regulatory dispute and liability allocation litigation involving an arsenic-contaminated property.
• Represented a local airline in response to group unemployment compensation claims across 18 states.
• Represented multiple Fortune 500 companies as amici curiae before the Minnesota Court of Appeals in age discrimination class action.

• “Partisan Gerrymandering: Blurring the Lines Between Law and Politics,” 45 Mitchell Hamline Law Review Sua Sponte 1 (2019)
• March 2004, “Should Judges Get Out of Redistricting?,” Co-Author, Bench & Bar of Minnesota
• January 2008, “Why Get Involved? One Lawyer’s Account of How Extracurricular Activities Benefit Life and Work,” With Equal Right
• September 2008, “A Rough and Tumble World: Balancing Client Advocacy and Professionalism in Fractious Litigation,” Co-Author, The Hennepin Lawyer